The Sheikh down begins...Man City set to AXE manager and key stars as European dream dies

The first victim of owner Sheikh Mansour's expected cull will be Manuel Pellegrini.

He is suffering a slow and painful death, with Barcelona and Lionel Messi the latest protagonists to hammer another nail into his coffin.

The Chilean is an honourable man. He never complains, even when he is on the wrong end of bad decisions (Jose Mourinho take note).

He is polite and has integrity. He is hard working, industrious, honest and ambitious.

But the plain truth is he is also incapable of taking the Premier League champions to the next level, the one that Sheikh Mansour demands - top of the European tree.

He presides over one of the richest and best-paid sports teams on the planet but the job is too big for him.

UNDER PRESSURE: Pellegrini must secretly know that his days are numbered at City [GETTY]

Pellegrini is in denial. He believes City can still win the title. He has played down the team's Champions League exit at the last 16 stage (again!). He believes his tactics and formations are right when results prove that they are wrong.

The facts don't lie and here's the most glaring one of all - City have made no progress under Pellegrini and are no better or closer to winning the Champions League than when Roberto Mancini was in charge.

Prior to the visit of Barca in the first leg, I asked Pellegrini what plans he had to stop Messi.

He didn't have one and was determined not to become obsessed with the Argentine magician.

Ignoring a genius like Messi is simply suicidal, as Pellegrini now knows. If it wasn't for Joe Hart in the Nou Camp on Wednesday night Barca would have won by a cricket score.

NO PLAN: Pellegrini had no scheme to deal with one of the greatest players to ever grace the game [GETTY]

Yet part of Pellegrini's job is to convince his players that they are good enough to win on the biggest stage, but the belief just isn't there.

Four times he has come up against the Spanish giants and four times he has failed. He hasn't even held them to a draw.

There is no disgrace in losing to one of the greatest teams of all time, but Sheikh Mansour hasn't pumped more than £1b of his staggering wealth into a club only to get respectable failure in return.

He wants City to be the dominant force in Europe, but the team isn't good enough and neither is the man in charge of it.

But Pellegrini shouldn't be the only victim of the current failings.

Eliaquim Mangala, Fernando, Fernandinho, Gael Clichy, Jesus Navas and Edin Dzeko should all be sold and replaced.

Yaya Toure needs to take a long look at himself because he hasn't been good enough this season. Captain Vincent Kompany should do the same, while Sergio Aguero needs more support and quality around him otherwise he will start to wonder if he can fulfil his lofty ambitions at the Etihad.

As for Frank Lampard, you have to wonder why Pellegrini went to such great lengths to delay him joining New York City FC?

Since the start of 2015 he has become nothing more than an extra in a horror show.

City need fresh blood and fresh ideas because the expensive project has gone stale.

Pellegrini remains unmoved by the speculation about his future, but deep down he will know what's coming.

He has had his chance and blown it.

His credit from winning two trophies last season has been spent and the footballing world now waits with bated breath to discover who Sheikh Mansour decides will be the next man to take be given the challenge of taking City to places they will never reach under the current manager at the helm of a ship that has sailed badly off course.